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Bath's centrepiece is, naturally enough, the Roman Baths located in front of the abbey in the pedestrianized Abbey Church Yard (daily: March-June, Sept & Oct 9am-6pm; July & Aug 9am-10pm; Nov-Feb 9.30am-5.30pm; GBP7.50, GBP9.50 combined ticket with Museum of Costume). Although the tickets are pricey, there's two or three hours' worth of well-balanced, informative entertainment here, with a taped commentary provided on handsets allowing you to wander at your own pace around the temple and bathing complex, where a spring still issues water at a constant 46.5°C. Highlights of the remains are the open-air (but originally covered) Great Bath, its vaporous waters surrounded by nineteenth-century pillars, terraces and statues of famous Romans; the Circular Bath, where bathers cooled off; the Norman King's Bath; and part of the temple of Minerva. Among a quantity of coins, jewellery and sculpture exhibited are the gilt bronze head of Sulis Minerva, the local deity, and a grand, Celtic-inspired gorgon's head from the temple's pediment. Models of the complex at its greatest extent give some idea of the awe which it must have inspired, while the graffiti salvaged from the Roman era - mainly curses and boasts - give a nice personal slant on this antique leisure centre. You can get a free glimpse into the baths from the next-door Pump Room , the social hub of the Georgian spa community and still redolent of that era, housing an excellent tearoom and restaurant.
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